THIS INVENTION relates to a microbiological process.
It is known how to grow filamentous microorganisms especially eukaryotic microorganisms, for example fungi in industrial processes, for example Aspergillus species, especially Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger are known for the production of citric acid; Penicillium species, especially Penicillium chrysogenum are known for the production of penicillin and Fusarium, especially Fusarium graminearum is grown for use in the manufacture of food.
It is desirable that the organisms should grow rapidly in the culture, as this increases the throughput per unit reactor volume.
In the culturing of such microorganisms hyphal branching occurs, and there may be a tendency for the population to become increasingly branched as culturing continues if the original microorganisms show little branching. This may present problems in the case of a product intended as food, leading to its having an unsatisfactory texture.